“Is there no Balm in Gilead?”: Health, Illness, Death, and Dying in the Hebrew Bible and Today

Authors

Joel Kaminsky, Smith CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-1-2021

Publication Title

Interpretation (United Kingdom)

Abstract

This essay argues that the Hebrew Bible contains conceptual resources that can contribute to and enrich the ongoing discussions surrounding healthcare in the U.S. and in other modern Western societies. These biblical ideas may help us reframe our understandings of sickness and health, something urgently needed if we wish individuals and their families to have less medically invasive and less alienating experiences of illness, most especially during end of life care.

Keywords

Death, Dying, Health, Healthcare, Hebrew Bible, Illness, Immortality, Impurity, Medicine

Volume

75

Issue

3

First Page

196

Last Page

206

DOI

10.1177/00209643211012116

ISSN

00209643

Rights

© The Author 2021

Comments

Archived as published.

Recommended Citation

Kaminsky, Joel, "“Is there no Balm in Gilead?”: Health, Illness, Death, and Dying in the Hebrew Bible and Today" (2021). Religion: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/rel_facpubs/25